We had to go far north just to try this dish as the ad in facebook was starting to get annoying. Joke lang. It was just in QC, so exxag yung "far north." And exxag din yung "annoying." I blog about food so ads about restos will always find their way on my timeline more frequently than the rest. And to be honest, we were supposed to go to @happytablesph but to our disappointment, they weren't open during lunch time. Luckily, Guisados was.

It took us more than 30 mins before we got out hands on this baby, but as my friend said when it finally arrived, "it was worth the wait." The rind was crunchy, popped to perfection, while the meat was moist and tender. Nanunuot ang lasa sa bawat hibla. (I don't know how to translate that. Help.) Roasted pork is universal. Every region in the world has one. I guess what qualifies this as Mexican would be the use of green chilies, lime and cilantro (and maybe oregano?) as flavoring. I had to mention this just to set it apart from the pinoy lechon kawali which would use bay leaf (laurel), salt and pepper.

I suggest you pair this with the dirty rice. The spiced bean taste of that one worked better than the cilantro rice which tasted too herby.

I guess the reason why it took them so long to prepare our pig was each order was made fresh. I don't know with you but i think there's really something inexplicably delicious when great care is taken in preparing food. And i can taste that on this one. Nuks.

A good suggestion would be to order tacos while waiting for your pig to arrive. Supposedly, tacos are what they're known for and judging from my friend's feedback, the steak tacos were really good. It was smaller than we expected but the meat was generous. But I can't really make a verdict since I didn't order that one. Next time.

So my friend wanted to hangout and grab a beer or two after her shift at work.

She suggested this place because she was able to eat there a few weeks back and she liked it. I understood why. We ordered Five Taco Sample (which includes beef barbacoa (my favorite), chicken, pork belly, chorizo and pork carnitas - 239pesos), Quesadillas (239pesos) and Chicken Burrito.

The currently have an offer that when you like and share their page on FB you'll get free fries (4th photo).

Chicken Burritos - Wasn't able to taste this one but my son said 4 stars

Roasted Pork Belly - Wow. Just wow. This one was the winner. I can't clearly describe it. It was so tender, the skin was thin and crispy. The taste of salty-sweet just perfectly blended in my mouth.

I guess we just loved how this Mexican inspired resto was not so Mexican at all. Their food was of local ingredients --- their Mexican concoctions carefully fusioned with Filipino flavors.

Service was excellent. The servers had such sincere smiles on their faces. There was warmth in every greeting, on the way they take your orders to table preparation to getting you your check. And as you leave, each one, from the servers to the cooks thank you as if our visit was a gift delivered.

The price was very reasonable for a glorious dinner. You'd feel the blessing in every bite.

I called my best friend on a Friday night for an impromptu dinner... She picked me up at Starbucks and she just asked, where to? I wanted to let her try BoxPark since she hasn't been there before. But the number of patrons that night was just crazy! So even before making a U-turn along Congressional, I just told her to go straight ahead and stop at Guisados, located before Luzon Ave...

The place wasn't full, but we opted to stay on their tables outside. We were given a menu and the staff made their suggestions. My best friend wanted to try their quesadilla and I wanted to try their tacos, so we ordered both... The server said that we should get their taco sampler, which had five different toppings and was good for two people already... She said that it was a good way to figure out what we would order the next time! Nice ate, confident na babalik kami! Lovett!!!🏻

They served us two kinds of salsa, though we didn't ask what the difference was... The quesadilla was really good! Very cheesy with lots of filling. They use melt in your mouth Angus beef for their delicious quesadillas!🏻 This vanished minutes after they set it down the table...

The Five Taco Sampler is smaller than their regular sized soft tacos...They provide two mini flour tortillas and a generous amount of their five toppings for you to try... Even if we just ordered this, we would have been full already. The toppings included the following: chorizo, chicken, beef barbacoa, pork carnitas and pork belly... The pork carnitas and pork belly (especially this🏻) stood out among the five... The beef was supposed to be the bestseller, but I found it just okay in terms of taste... I would recommend the pork belly for first timers...

Other than their yummy menu items, the fast and attentive service helped seal the deal for me. At about P300 or less, you can enjoy a filling and delicious meal already! Not bad!

Can I just mention, that though we were outside, there were no flies or mosquitoes that bothered us... We weren't bothered by their grill either, since the smoke didn't reach the tables because of their vent. Hindi nausukan ang peg!🏻

The staff told us that they open around lunchtime, so you can enjoy this place pretty early and until late!

We ordered the 5-taco sampler, Mexican fries and the wings. The beef barbacoa, which was supposedly their best-seller, did not hit the spot. I'm a beef person but this just did not meet the flavor I was expecting. Don't get me wrong - it was not bad, it just did not impress me. The other tacos were good though, particularly the pork belly and the chicken!

The fries were a mix of potatoes and sweet potatoes and came with a garlic dip. I loved how unique it was. I am not a fan of sweet potatoes but I liked this one because it was thinly cut into strips, making it look (and taste) like potatoes. These are lightly salted and, when dipped into their garlic sauce, just makes you want to eat more. I loved the taste and the presentation as well.

I looooved the wings!!! They were a bit small, but sooo flavorful. I think this is one of the best wings I have had. Next time I will order more! My guy enjoyed it so much, I ended up having only 2 out of 6 pcs when there actually is an "unspoken agreement" that we get 3 each! Anyway, that goes to show it was THAT good. The flavor sinks in every bite, unlike those I have tried where the flavor only stays on the outside.

Service was good enough, and our order did not take long. The place can probably accommodate around 20-30 customers.

The only problem here is that it's not accessible to commuters. Their parking space can fit around 4 or 5 cars because I remember parking on the establishment beside it. Fortunately, that establishment was closed on weekends. Maybe they should open another branch? Will be looking forward to that! 🏼

Guisados is know for their "Build your Own Taco" concept which is nice actually, but I didn't try that. Hahaha. I tried their Five Taco Sampler, it consists of 10 pcs of soft tacos and a mix of Fish, Chicken, Pork, Beef and Chorizo. They serve it with their famous salsa. You could actually choose what kind of dressing/salsa you'd want to go with your tacos. It costs around 230-250 pesos.

I highly recommend their Mexican Fries, it's made up of Sweet Potato and Potato strips served with a garlic dip. It's sold at 150 pesos per order. It's good for around 4 people but I could eat 1 order all by myself. Hahaha. I also love their Chicken wings, it was properly cooked and the meat slides off the bones. It was savory, it was a little sweet but it had that kick of barbecue. An order of around 6pcs costs around 200+ pesos.

I don't recommend their silantro rice and mexican rice, it's a bit bland. We informed the waiter about our comment since they asked our opinion about our experience. They were pretty cool about how we reacted, I guess cause they're still new and they want the most honest comments they could get from customers so they could improve on it.

The ambiance and the design of the place is so creative and cool. They have tables indoor and outdoor for smokers. The outside part has a shade so if it rains, you're safe. They also have a restroom and wash area. What I liked about their decor is they were very innovative with things they used like steel food strainers as lamp shades, mason jars as light bulb covers, used plate numbers as wall decor and the tables looked like they came from recycled wood.

The place Congressional Ave but it's closer to the Balara flyover side than the project 8 side. Not a commute friendly place since I didn't see any jeeps or tricycles passing by BUT if you have a car, parking is not a problem.

Nothing much changed in this resto.
pork belly
I loved this!!! Treat yourself and get this! All tender and criapy. The skin has some fat portion in between. And it was really crispy. I thought i'd get sordes after eating. Na-ah. Best pulutan ever.
Burritos (chicken)
small and it does look like "malnourished” dry inside.

I quote "Here at Guisados, our specialty is stewed tacos. We serve authentic Mexican inspired food using local ingredients so expect well seasoned food in our restaurant. At Guisados we like to say that our food is like a Mexican comfort every day kind of food. Meaning there's a lot of love and time because we cook long hours when it comes to prepping our food. We pay attention to every detail and know you will enjoy our food.” end of quote. This seemed to be some kind of "quality policy" written in their menu. Gusiados is a new (just a month old!) mexican ala el chupacabra resto along congressional extension.
A ver.
Tacos and beer are their main attraction here, and i just have to try their first 5 choices of tacos. So i tried their taco sampler. They'll be serving you 2 dips: green tomato and red tomato. The green tasted more salty/sour than the red. The red tasted more chilly. The sauces comes with silantro in it.
soft taco - for the taco, I had the sampler size only. Here they serve 2 pcs of soft tacos. It's somewhat 7-8 inches in diameter. Ot tasted soft nachos!!
(from your 1o'clock: beef barbacoa, pork belly, pork carnitas, chicken, and chorizo)
Pork carnitas - stewed pork in beer and orange. It's 100% pork with 60%beer taste followed by 40% orange. What new pairing!
Chorizo and egg - this one tasted like salted egg with pork. The pork was dry, so this is best with the tomato dips they offer.
Chicken - tastes a bit like curry. Kindof dry as well, so do eat it with those dips.
Pork belly - this one is real fat goodness! Brings back the el chupacabra experience.
Beef Barbacoa- what's this? It's beef stew!! And tastes reall good. Tastes like succulent corned beef
I actually am excited to visit in their full swing operation. Coming soon. The menu they have now is just part of the final menu.. They'll be including seafood tacos and ceviche (kinilaw!!!!)
I really need to share this with my friends who drink beer!
Their beer costs 60 per bottle though.
The place is good for 30 pax inside outside (for smokers)can accomodate around 15 pax. Service is really good as of the moment. Servers (all ladies) wearing nerd look with short shorts. The sampler platter was served within 8 minutes. Visiting soon!